Self Love

When the world shut down for the pandemic, and I was unable to shoot live models in my studio, I placed announcements on various Internet sites, inviting strangers to send me selfies, which I would digitally manipulate into finished artwork. The entire process was a creative collaboration in which I am able to make art from the view of the subject’s own lens. They send me photos showing how they see themselves or want others to see them. Sometimes they write me about themselves and why they’re reaching out. Other times I know nothing about them except that they would reach out to send a stranger a selfie with only the promise of getting back "something interesting." Over the course of this quarantine selfie project, I became fascinated by creating portraits from the subjects’ self-portraits, blurring the lines between creator and creation, between artist and model, and between reality and fantasy.

This is Liz, she is 45 years old and lives in Queens, NY. She responded to an ad I placed on Craigslist looking for erotic selfies. She sent me several pictures, probably more than any other respondent. She took our collaboration very seriously. She even bought a new camera.

Limited edition photograph on photo rag bright paper in black modern float frame